203 arrested in Pattaya street-racing crackdown

A total of 186 motorbikes have been seized and 203 people have been arrested in a crackdown on racing around Pattaya.

Regional police made the arrests for racing or selling parts for modified motorcycles in a province-wide sweep.

The police told a news conference at Bali Hai Pier that the coordinated crackdown by district administrators, soldiers, tourism police and officers from 23 stations was in response to orders from the government to crackdown on motorbike racing and the suppliers of equipment to modify the bikes.

Around 159 racers aged 13 to 63 were apprehended. Two of them failed drug tests and face additional charges. The authorities also arrested the administrators of two Facebook pages – 19-year-old Witchayut Riyaphan and 27-year-old Subsakul Mingphan – and charged them with using social media to encourage others to race illegally.